By Paddy
Posted America’s First Murderer
“As far as I can tell, the first murder in New England was committed in 1630 with a gun.” Thomas McDade, The Annals of Murder. John Billington was probably not the first man to commit [...]
By Paddy
In Articles, books, Case Study, Education, history, Murder, Non-fiction, Uncategorized, writing, Writing
Posted The First American Psychos?
On a summer’s day in 1799, a group of men were driving cattle from Kentucky to Virginia, along a road known as Boone’s Trace, when the cows suddenly quit the road and rushed into the woods. Once [...]
By Paddy
In Articles, books, Branding, Business, Education, Explainer, fiction, Marketing, Non-fiction, research, Writing
Posted Publishing 101
I’m reading a great book right now called Publishing 101, by Jane Friedman. She is a columnist with Publishers Weekly and writes a very useful blog at JaneFriedman.com. She’s been in [...]
Murder in the first degree – a history
I had always thought of ‘murder in the first degree’ as something dating back to mediaeval times in England. It certainly has that ring to it. But it turns out, it’s not an [...]
Book review: Say Nothing, by Patrick Radden Keefe
I reviewed New Yorker writer Patrick Radden Keefe’s book Say Nothing, A True Story of Murder and Memory In Northern Ireland, for NPR. Say Nothing is the story of the abduction and murder of [...]
By Paddy
Posted How to market your book, part 1
I’m going to be speaking to Sisters in Crime in April about book marketing, and my journey through the dizzying world of how to place and sell your book. So let’s start with the basic question: [...]
By Paddy
Posted How bookstores can cope with rising rents
Rising rent is one of the biggest reasons that bookstores lose their leases. I feel very conflicted about this. On the one hand, I love books and bookstores, and I hate the idea that as business [...]
